Name:_______________________________________________
NOTE: You will submit this assignment electronically in the
D2L Dropbox. It is due BEFORE 11:59 pm on TUESDAY
September14th when the Dropbox will be closed.
Assignment I-1 FOOTPRINTS & GLOBAL CHANGE -- PART B
(Individual Assignment worth 15 pts)
Due in the D2L DROPBOX TUESDAY SEP 14th no later than 11:59 pm
In this part of the assignment you will dig deeper into the three types of Footprints you calculated in
PART A: Ecological Footprint (EF), Carbon Footprint (CF) and Water Footprint (WF). You
will also examine Ecological Footprints from different countries. Finally, for an easy point you will
document that you have read — and will apply by — the course policies as documented in the
Course FAQ.
NOTE: In this (and future) Individual Assignments, those students who are striving for a top grade
(which reflects a truly exceptional effort), the “TOP TWO” points (out of the 20 available for Part
A + Part B) will require you to “go the extra mile” in order to earn them.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DEFINITIONS: Let’s begin with a review of the definition of each type of footprint you’ve
calculated. [Remember: it is plagiarism to copy and paste from the web without putting the text in
quotes and providing the URL source.]
Ecological Footprint (def): “A measure of how much biologically productive land and water an
individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the
waste it generates using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The Ecological
Footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an individual or country's
Footprint includes land or sea from all over in the world. Ecological Footprint is often referred to in
short form as Footprint (not footprint).”
SOURCE:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=glossary#Ecologicalfootprint
Carbon Footprint (def.): “The Nature Conservancy's carbon calculator determines carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gas emissions for personal and household behaviors. . . . Carbon dioxide emissions
are calculated from the weight of carbon. Other emissions, such as methane and nitrous oxide, are
reported in carbon dioxide equivalents so that the emissions can be compared. Short tons (equivalent to
2,000 lbs) are the units used to report emissions in this calculator. . . . For this calculator, emissions
attributed directly from individual behaviors, such as miles flown, as well as indirect emissions, such
as the CO2 emitted in building airports, are included in the overall emissions calculation.”
SOURCE: http://www.nature.org/popups/misc/art20625.html
Water Footprint (def): “Water footprint – The water footprint is an indicator of freshwater use that
looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an
individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce
the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. Water
use is measured in terms of water volumes consumed (evaporated) and/or polluted per unit of time. . . .
The water footprint is a geographically explicit indicator, not only showing volumes of water use and
pollution, but also the locations.”
SOURCE: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/Glossary
UNITS: Here are the units of measure in the 3 types of footprints you’ve calculated
(NOTE: /cap = “per capita” or “per person”)
Ecological Footprint = Global hectares (gha) per year/cap (or global acres for U.S. calculations)
Carbon Footprint = Tons of CO2 equivalent per year (CO2 eq/yr)
Water Fooprint = Cubic meters of water per capita per year (m3/cap/yr)
More information about the concept of a “global hectare” used in the Ecological Footprint:
(Source: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/glossary/ )
global hectare (gha) : A productivity weighted area used to report both the biocapacity of the earth,
and the demand on biocapacity (the Ecological Footprint). The global hectare is normalized to the
area-weighted average productivity of biologically productive land and water in a given year. Because
different land types have different productivity, a global hectare of, for example, cropland, would
occupy a smaller physical area than the much less biologically productive pasture land, as more pasture
would be needed to provide the same biocapacity as one hectare of cropland. Because world
bioproductivity varies slightly from year to year, the value of a gha may change slightly from year to
year.
hectare : 1/100th of a square kilometre, 10,000 square meters, or 2.471 acres. A hectare is
approximately the size of a soccer field.
Planet Equivalent(s) : Every individual and country's Ecological Footprint has a corresponding Planet
Equivalent, or the number of Earths it would take to support humanity's Footprint if everyone lived
like that individual or average citizen of a given country. It is the ratio of an individual's (or country's
per capita) Footprint to the per capita biological capacity available on Earth (2.1 gha in 2005). In 2005,
the world average Ecological Footprint of 2.7 gha equals 1.3 Planet Equivalents.
QUESTION #1:
In the bottom row of the COMPARISON TABLE below, enter the 3 footprints that YOU
COMPUTED for yourself for PART A. (NOTE: if you didn’t save your results from Part A, just
compute the 3 footprints all over again.)
FOOTPRINT COMPARISON TABLE
based on 2009
data
Ecological
Footprint
(global acres)
Earth’s
Biocapacity
(global
acres)
GLOBAL
Avg
6.4
USA Avg
22.3
YOUR
FOOTPRINT
# Earth’s
Needed
Carbon
Footprint
(tons of CO2
eq/year)
Water
Footprint
(m3/cap/yr)
4.5
1.4
5.5
1240
4.5
5
27
2500
4.5
FYI --here’s a copy of the results graphs for the 2008 USA Average Ecological Footprint.
USA AVERAGE Ecological Footprint (based on 2008 data)
QUESTION #2:
For each type of footprint, write few sentences that (a) describes how YOUR footprint compares
with the USA average and (b) suggests possible reasons for the differences between your own
footprint and USA average. You can do this by reviewing the “behavior breakdown” charts for each of the
footprints to see which actions contribute most to each of your footprints – see the example above for the USA average
Ecological Footprint. The behavior breakdown charts are displayed differently for the Carbon & Water Footprints, but
the information is provided.
Ecological Footprint:
(a)
(b)
Carbon Footprint:
(a)
(b)
Water Footprint:
(a)
(b)
QUESTION #3:
For each type of footprint, write a few sentences paragraph that (a) describes how YOUR
footprint compares with the GLOBAL average and (b) suggests possible reasons for the
differences between your own footprint and the GLOBAL average. You can do this by reviewing the
“behavior breakdown” charts for each of the footprints to see which actions contribute most to each of your footprints –
see the example above for the USA average Ecological Footprint. The behavior breakdown charts are displayed differently
for the Carbon & Water Footprints, but the information is provided.
Ecological Footprint:
(a)
(b)
Carbon Footprint:
(a)
(b)
Water Footprint:
(a)
(b)
QUESTION #4:
Now go back to the ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT QUIZ link:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
Select one of the other countries available (but not Calgary – it’s a city in Canada, not a country) and
compute your footprint again trying to answer similarly to what you entered for your USA footprint.
(This may be a bit challenging because each country has different attributes, dwelling types, energy
sources, etc. and some may be unfamiliar to you – but do the best you can – the conversion doesn’t
have to be perfect, just a general idea. This will also give you some more practice with the metric
system!
hard to do at times and you’ll get some practice with the metric system, but ! INKS (for PART A) and
In a short paragraph, speculate on why the country in which a person resides makes such a difference
in the individual's Footprint.
QUESTION #2:
For each type of footprint, write a short paragraph that (a) describes how YOUR footprint compares
with the USA average and (b) suggests possible reasons for the differences between your own
footprint and USA average. You can do this by reviewing the “behavior breakdown” charts for each of
the footprints to see which actions contribute most to each of your footprints – see the example above
for the USA average Ecological Footprint. The behavior breakdown charts are displayed differently
for the Carbon & Water Footprints, but the information is provided.
Ecological Footprint:
(a)
(b)
Carbon Footprint:
(a)
(b)
Water Footprint:
(a)
(b)
6. Write a paragraph comparing your original (USA) Footprint (calculated when you took the quiz
the first time, as in # 3) with (a) the Country Average Footprint in the country you selected in #5.
(In your paragraph compare the two in terms of: (i) total global acres, (ii) global acres by consumption
category, and (iii) Earth's needed).
7. Speculate on why the country in which a person resides makes such a difference in the individual's
Footprint.
8. Evaluate your future Ecological Footprint. Recalculate your own Footprint using answers you
predict will reflect your life in 5 to 10 years (bigger income, larger home, kids(?), more travel, etc.
etc.) – Try to be realistic!!
What is your estimated future Footprint? ______ (in acres) ______ (in “Earth’s” needed)
9. Briefly describe your predicted changes in lifestyle. Do they increase or decrease your Footprint?
In which categories? How and why?
PART IV. SYLLBUS & COURSE POLICIES -- READ, UNDERSTAND, ACT
ACCORDINGLY
Finally, do you know what FORMAT this homework assignment should be in before you submit
it?
(The answer to this is in FAQ #12, along with other information and policies about how the course
operates.)
10. To wrap up this assignment, do the following:
(1) Carefully read the online SYLLABUS & FAQ, to learn all the COURSE POLICIES, along with
other useful information that will help you have a successful semester. Also read the University of
Arizona Code of Academic Integrity if you have not already done so. There’s important material in
there about your rights as a student, along with the “prohibited conduct” type information, so it’s wise
to be aware of what it says.
(2) IF you haven’t done so already, complete the PRACTICE SELF TEST ON THE SYLLABUS
& COURSE POLICIES FAQ in D2L to test your understanding of the information and policies in
the SYLLABUS and FAQ
(3) Then, if you haven’t done so already, complete the corresponding PRACTICE READINESS
QUIZ (RQ) ON THE SYLLABUS & FAQ AND ACCEPTANCE OF COURSE POLICIES.
You may take it as many times as you need until you get a perfect score of 7 out of 7 (100%). IF
you have already taken it and gotten 7 out of 7, you have completed this part of the assignment. If you
already took this RQ but didn’t get a 7 out of 7, keep taking it until you get a perfect score.
(The last two questions on the RQ indicate that you have read and understood our Course Policies
and the University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity and hereby agree to conduct yourself in
this course according to the standards upheld by them.)
In order to get credit for Question #10 of this Assignment, you will need have submitted the RQ
with a perfect score of 7/7 (100%) by no later than midnight Friday September 10th.